Crossing the Dark Divide

The first arc of Elektra – issues 1 through 5 – is now out. Overall, the reception has been overwhelmingly positive and I am again truly humbled by the reaction to the series. I just wanted to give Elektra her due, and hopefully getting into her head a bit and creating a villain that was her equal and, in many ways, her mirror, did just that. But, none of it would have been possible without the incredible work of Mike DelMundo. He’s the real star of the series.

If you haven’t checked it out, all five issues are available in stores or for digital download. And here’s the cover gallery:

Elektra #1

Elektra 2, w/ variant

Elektra #3

Elektra #4

Elektra #5

In other news, Gary Erskine continues to chip away at The Irons. I’m hoping that a new episode will be released on the Madefire platform in the next few weeks. And there’s another project afoot…

I’m really happy to be able to talk about my next comics project — Elektra at Marvel! My introduction to comics came with a copy of Death of Captain Marvel purchased at a mall bookstore when I was a kid. I didn’t know anything about the Marvel universe, but I was fascinated by all of the characters and quickly became a die-hard Marvel fan, consuming Contest of Champions, Secret Wars, and every copy of the Official Marvel Handbook that I could find. As I began to delve into the back-issue bins, I found Frank Miller’s run on Daredevil and was drawn to his unique supporting cast, including Bullseye and Typhoid Mary. But it was Elektra whose tragic death I could never shake. I can’t imagine a better follow-up to Batwoman than this — a book about a morally-complex character who is exploring the rich and diverse Marvel Universe while searching for her place within it.

As usual, I totally lucked into this gig. The ridiculously-talented Zeb Wells was set to write the series, but he’s honoring his commitments in television. As a fan, I was really looking forward to his vision for Elektra; as a writer, I’m humbled by and grateful for the chance to take on the project in his stead and just hope I do the job half as well as he would.

Fortunately, I’m again paired with an incredible collaborator, artist Mike Del Mundo. He’s been doing some great concept work already, and the covers he’s supplied are simultaneously violent and strikingly beautiful, dynamic and haunting. He’s already produced some concept art for a new villain who is going to be a terrifying and formidable adversary for Elektra. You can check out more of his work at his home page. If nothing else, I know the book will look great.

From the moment DC asked us to write Batwoman — a dream project for both of us — we were committed to the unofficial tagline “No Status Quo.” We felt that the series and characters should always be moving forward, to keep changing and evolving. In order to live up to our mantra and ensure that each arc took Batwoman in new directions, we carefully planned plotlines and story beats for at least the first five arcs well before we ever wrote a single issue. We’ve been executing on that plan ever since, making changes whenever we’ve come up with a better idea, but in general remaining consistent to our core vision.

Unfortunately, in recent months, DC has asked us to alter or completely discard many long-standing storylines in ways that we feel compromise the character and the series. We were told to ditch plans for Killer Croc’s origins; forced to drastically alter the original ending of our current arc, which would have defined Batwoman’s heroic future in bold new ways; and, most crushingly, prohibited from ever showing Kate and Maggie actually getting married. All of these editorial decisions came at the last minute, and always after a year or more of planning and plotting on our end.

We’ve always understood that, as much as we love the character, Batwoman ultimately belongs to DC. However, the eleventh-hour nature of these changes left us frustrated and angry — because they prevent us from telling the best stories we can. So, after a lot of soul-searching, we’ve decided to leave the book after Issue 26.

We’re both heartbroken over leaving, but we feel strongly that you all deserve stories that push the character and the series forward. We can’t reliably do our best work if our plans are scrapped at the last minute, so we’re stepping aside. We are committed to bringing our run to a satisfying conclusion and we think that Issue 26 will leave a lasting impression.

And most of all, a huge thank you to everyone who read the book. Hearing your voices, your reactions, your enthusiasm every month was such a joy, so humbling, so rewarding. You guys rock! Because so many of you embraced the series, we were able to complete four arcs, and your passion for Batwoman encouraged us to push ourselves to do our best work with each and every issue.

One of my all-time favorite comic stories is Batman #522 by Doug Moench and Kelley Jones. In that issue, Batman is tracking Killer Croc, who is rapidly devolving. As he transforms from killer to animal, he seeks only a safe place to hunt, hide and sleep. When Batman finally closes in on Croc, Swamp Thing appears and takes responsibility for Croc, allowing him to live out his days in peace in the swamps. I’m a sucker for sympathetic monsters, and having one such monster (Swamp Thing) intervene on behalf of another seemed perfect. I never forgot this portrayal of Croc — mostly because it showed another side of the character that hadn’t been explored before.

So, when Jim and I were first asked to pitch what became the Batwoman ongoing, one of the very first things we agreed upon was that we wanted to use Killer Croc. And, more than that, we wanted to transform Killer Croc from a dull-witted thug into something “more” — first into the Hydra, and then into a reluctant leader, and finally a villain worthy of Batwoman. We weren’t on a quest to redeem him, or even to completely redefine him, but to expand upon what has come before and show that there’s some depth to him. (Incidentally, this was all part of the pitch for a limited series team-up between Batwoman and Wonder Woman, which then became the World’s Finest arc of the ongoing once we were tapped to take on the series).

Issue #21 is the culmination of a lot of our very early ideas around Croc. It’s been on stands for a few weeks now, and the response has been incredible. This was, hands-down, one of my favorite issues to write, so I’m really gratified to see that it has garnered such great reviews from critics and fans alike. Jim and I have been especially pleased that Francesco Francavilla’s artwork has been so well-received. For me, his artwork hearkens back to old school EC comics while still being wholly original and unique.

Jim and I have been asked a lot lately why we’re not participating in the upcoming Villains event running through all of the DC comics in Sept / Oct. At DC’s request, we did pitch two different stories. One pitch was for a Killer Croc tale that would pick up directly after Issue 21. Unfortunately, a last minute decision from somewhere up the editorial chain killed it. Despite all the groundwork we’ve laid, DC decided that Croc can’t be connected to anything supernatural, metaphysical, or mythological in any way. I’ve been pretty heartbroken over the decision; writing in his voice was incredibly challenging — in the best possible way — and I thought that Jim and I were taking him in some unexpected directions while remaining true to the tone and “rules” we’ve established in Batwoman. Elements of that story were also going to feed back into the ongoing in ways we’ll now need to reconsider. (Fortunately, Tim Seeley did get the nod to do a Croc story, and given his prior work, I’m sure it’s going to be fantastic).

The other pitch, featuring a different villain, was also originally accepted. But just before we started working on the script, someone at DC decided that the character wasn’t recognizable and/or villainous enough to warrant his own issue. I don’t want to give anything else away because Jim and I still believe in the story, so we’ve already found a way to integrate it into the ongoing.

So, no Batwoman or Batwoman-related characters during the Villains month. Fortunately, Batwoman #22, is on sale next week! And it features a cameo by some interesting established Bat-villains, and formally introduces some new characters that Jim and I have planted in previous issues, and who will play an important role not only in the rest of this arc, but in the next arc as well. I just got my comp copies and Trevor’s art continues to amaze me.

The newest installment of The Irons is available via Madefire, on iOS or through DeviantArt. Detective Leto is hot on the trail of the serial killer known as The Hijacker, who uses teleportation technology to murder his victims — by fusing them together into horrific hybrids. This is the longest installment yet, showing more of the dystopian Irons world and giving us some insight into Leto. Gary Erskine continues to blow me away with the amount of detail he’s cramming into every image; The Irons is coming to life in ways I never imagined.

It’s been a great few weeks for Batwoman. First, the softcover edition of Hydrology, collecting the first Arc and the original Zero issue, came out. We were totally floored when Hydrology hit #1 on the NYT best-sellers list, and are hopeful that more new readers will discover the series through the TPB. The hardcover version of To Drown The World — our second arc — also released. We took some big risks with the story-telling in TDTW, essentially telling six different stories in parallel even though they each kick off at different periods in time. I’m very grateful for all the feedback, and it’s been heartening to hear that many people who are reading the story start-to-finish in HC form are really enjoying it. Meanwhile, Arc 3 (World’s Finest), featuring a team-up with Wonder Woman, continues rolling along. Jim is doing some of his best layout work ever, and I feel like we’ve created a number of very memorable villains and scenes. Issue 15, which was one of my favorites to write, is on stands now. It is told almost entirely from Maggie Sawyer’s point-of-view, and explores a bit of her backstory while also touching on all the crazy going on across Gotham. Issue 16 hits stands this Wednesday, and escalates the story still further, bringing back some old friends and setting up the arc’s finale. Can’t wait to see reactions to one particular two-page spread… You can check out a preview of 16 over at Newsarama.

Issue 15 featuring Maggie Sawyer

Issue 16, on sale 1/23!

And perhaps best of all, we’ve been nominated for a GLAAD Media Award!!! You can check out all the other nominees here; we’re in terrific company. For me personally, I’ve humbled yet very proud by the fact that we’ve received a GLAAD nomination two years running. I’ve always hoped this book would show honest relationships, and I guess we’re doing something right.

Meanwhile, Episodes 1-3 of The Irons: Hybrids are all available on iTunes through Madefire’s awesome motion comic app. I can’t stop talking about how great this experience has been – writing a very mature, graphic-novel length story; creating content for an emerging medium; getting to work with Gary Erskine, Liam Sharp, Ben Abernathy, and all the other amazing folks at Madefire… If you haven’t checked it out, please download it (it’s free!); if you like The Irons, you’ll love all the other stories available, all of which has been lovingly crafted by the industry’s best talent. I’m still stunned I’m part of such an inspiring crew. You can see more of Ep. 3 here!

Batwoman #12 is on sale! This is the first issue in our third arc, and brings Batwoman into the greater New DCU through a team-up with Wonder Woman. This issue was incredibly fun to write, especially after all the jumping around in time we did in Arc 2 — which was as challenging for us as it was for readers. For me, I’m finding it more and more rewarding to get into Kate’s head and show things from her point-of-view. One of the (fair, I think) criticisms of the series thus far has been that Kate/Batwoman sometimes seems distant or aloof, and this issue (and maybe more dramatically, the next issue, with is the “new Zero” issue recounting her origin) hopefully begins to change that. Jim also returns to art duties, and does some stunning work especially in an early scene involving Bloody Mary — you can check out a preview of Batwoman #12 at CBR.

Issues #3 and #4 of Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison are on sale! The series has been getting some very glowing reviews — I’m totally humbled by the reaction thus far, and can’t wait to see how readers react to the final issue (on sale Sept. 19th). My approach with this series was to show Vader through the eyes of others — including a young Imperial cadet who is trying to prove himself to the Dark Lord and an established character, Moff Trachta, who we know one day betrays the Emperor and Vader. Agustin Alessio’s work on this series is exceptional — I wrote a big prison riot scene in Issue 4, worried that anyone would be able to cram in all the detail I wanted, and he nailed it… All while creating some really awesome new character designs.

Madefire has been releasing a steady stream of new content, all of it pushing the boundaries of digital story-telling. Madefire also announced that veteran editor Ben Abernathy is joining the company, after over a decade at DC.